Homestay bookings

Your sitters, in their homes

Some owners would rather nothing changed at all — same house, same bed, same garden, someone there overnight. Homestay bookings are for running that as a business: a team of sitters, placed in customers' homes, for as long as the job needs.

Start your free trial How it works

Daytime, overnight or both · Preferred sitters · Per-night pricing

The Whitfields · 9 nights

14 – 23 March

Sitter

Preferred

Jess — stayed with them last year

Overnight cover

In the house from 18:00, out after breakfast

Milo · Border Collie

Own bed, own routine, own back garden

Priced per night · extends automatically if dates change

Illustration of a homestay booking

Cover that fits the job

Not every house-sit looks the same. Some are overnight only. Some are a full day with someone there while the family's at work. Some are both, for a fortnight.

A homestay booking carries its own dates and, when you want them, exact arrival and departure times — so "in at six, out after breakfast" is on the booking rather than in an understanding.

  • ✓ Overnight, daytime, or a sitter living in for the whole trip
  • ✓ Exact check-in and check-out times when the handover matters
  • ✓ Priced per night, per day or however you charge
  • ✓ Extend the dates and the price follows on its own

Shapes it takes

Overnight

Someone in the house through the night, gone in the morning

Daytime

Company and cover while the house is empty

Full cover

A sitter living in for the duration of the trip

What comes with it

Built for managing other people doing the sitting.

Preferred sitters

Record which sitter a customer prefers on their record. Repeat customers get the person their dog already knows, without anyone having to remember.

A team, assigned

Put a staff member on each booking and see who's placed where. Essential once you're sending several people out at once.

Prices that self-correct

Add a day to a booking and the cost updates to match, so an extended trip bills correctly without anyone recalculating.

Charge how you charge

Per night, per day or your own basis — set once in your homestay rates.

Handover times

Show check-in and check-out times on the booking when the exact hour matters, or leave them off when it doesn't.

Cancellation fees

Charge when a trip is called off inside your notice window, fixed or as a percentage of the booking.

Online booking and deposits

Let customers request homestays online and take a deposit or full payment up front, the same as any other service.

Everything about the pets

Feeding, medication, vet and emergency contacts are already on the pet's record, so the sitter has them without a handover call.

Call it what you call it

"Homestay" can be renamed everywhere — House Sitting, Live-In Care, Home From Home.

Frequently asked questions

What is a homestay booking?

It's a booking where your staff member goes to the customer's home rather than the pet coming to you. It can be daytime cover, overnight, or a sitter living in for the whole trip.

How is homestay different from a drop-in visit?

A drop-in is a short visit — someone calls in, feeds, walks and leaves. A homestay is presence: the sitter is there for the day, the night, or the duration. Drop-ins are booked as separate short visits; a homestay is booked as a stay.

Can I record which sitter a customer prefers?

Yes. The preferred sitter is stored on the customer's record, so repeat bookings can go to the person their pets already know rather than relying on somebody remembering.

How is homestay priced?

However you charge for it — per night, per day or your own basis, set in your homestay rates. If the dates change, the price can update automatically to match.

Can customers book a house sit online?

Yes. Homestay can be published to your online booking portal like any other service, with deposits or full payment taken up front if you want them.

Does the sitter get the pet's details?

Yes. Feeding routines, medication, vet details and emergency contacts live on the pet and customer records, so whoever takes the booking has the same information.

Run the team, not the group chat

Try KennelBooker free for 14 days — no credit card, no contracts — and keep every placement, sitter and handover in one place.

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